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President Gordon B. Hinckley on Y2K: "What a Glorious Day"
Message #53
Date: Oct 03 1999 19:35:09 EDT
From: "Greater Things" <Greater_Things-owner@listbot.com>
Subject: President Gordon B. Hinckley on Y2K: "What a Glorious Day"
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SUBJECT: President Gordon B. Hinckley on Y2K: "What a Glorious Day"
(i.e. What 'tribulations'? The millenium is already here!)
DATE: October 3, 1999
www.GreaterThings.com/Editorial/GBH_on_Y2K.htm
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Today in the Sunday Morning session of LDS General Conference, President
Gordon B. Hinckley, revered by his fellow Mormon followers as their
Prophet and mouthpiece for God himself, addressed the issue that has
become nearly an obsessive common focus of the entire planet -- Y2K.
This General Conference marks the last that will be held this century
prior to the turning of the clock on midnight of December 31, from the
year 1999 to the year 2000, when some computers will interpret the "00" in
their still two-digit date slot to mean 1900, creating conflicts of data,
locking up of software, malfunctioning of machines controlled by these
computers, and secondary glitches in the computers reliant on the errant
computers.
Minus some divine revelation, no one will know for certain how widespread
the disruption will be from this man-made boondoggle until the clocks
actually turn one at a time through the 24 time zones compassing the earth
this coming New Years Eve, now just 89 days away.
Huge expenditures of money, time, and resources have been poured into the
Y2K problem in order to address the most crucial vulnerabilities. Yet
because of the interconnectivity of the world's computer systems as well
as the interdependent world, nation, state, community, corporate economy
which now rides on the back of the computer, even small glitches can have
tremendous rippling effects.
Prognostication as to the outcome has been controversial. On one hand,
some have predicted only minor glitches which can be soon fixed but which
will not overly disrupt the main flow of society. On the other extreme,
there are a significant number of people who anticipate the end of the
world as we know it. Still others anticipate prolonged disruption from
which we will gradually, with difficulty, recover.
Previously silent on the issue, on the eve of the millennium, the Mormon
prophet has now spoken officially on the topic, making it the subject of
his remarks to the body of the Church in the semi-annual conference
broadcast to all the world.
In Mormon theology, such pronouncements are looked upon as akin to the
mind and will of the Lord, binding upon the members of the church and
representing the direction of God to them.
What did the Mormon prophet have to say this morning?
He began his talk by acknowledging the presence of Senator Robert Bennett,
R-Utah and LDS, who has become famous nationally and even internationally
for his incessant yet tempered voice of warning regarding Y2K.
President Hinckley then used this as an introduction to the topic of Y2K,
mentioning that it has been the subject on everyone's mind -- a subject he
would like to now address.
He then proceeded to overview world history from a religious standpoint.
He began by focusing on the life of the Savior, Jesus Christ, who
established His gospel here on the earth. That gospel was subsequently
lost in its purity from the earth as the early Christian church fell away
into darkness, Hinckley continued. This was followed by the long night of
the Dark Ages, which haze began to lift with the Renaissance and its
introduction of the age of enlightenment. Then with the establishment of
freedom of religion in America, the stage was set for the restoration of
the pure gospel of Jesus Christ through the prophet Joseph Smith. A new
and final dispensation had dawned. The gospel, along with the Priesthood
of God and the keys to administer God's kingdom had been restored, no more
to be taken from the earth.
Having said that, President Hinckley was now ready to make his point
regarding Y2K, which he never mentioned specifically other than at the
beginning of his address.
He spoke of "what a glorious day this is" in which we live. He referred
to Joseph Smith's restoring the gospel as being in fulfillment of Daniel's
prophecy of a stone that would be cut out of the mountain without hands,
which would then roll forward and fill the whole earth.
Joseph's day was the day of the stone being cut out of the mountain,
according to Hinckley, and this day of tremendous Church growth and favor
in the world, coming out of obscurity, is now the day in which it is
rolling forward to fill the whole earth with nothing to stop or hinder it
in its progress. I think it safe to assert from his context that he
intended to imply that this included Y2K.
In the final paragraphs of his talk he spoke of continued growth,
continued improvement, continued enlargement, which in the context of
addressing Y2K implied that it would not be a significant setback either
for the church or for the world.
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QUOTING PRESIDENT HINKLEY
"The stone was small in the beginning, and it was hardly noticeable. But
it has grown steadily and is rolling forth to fill the earth.My brethren
and sisters, do you realize what we have? Do you recognize our place in
the great drama of human history?
This is the focal point of all that has gone before. This is the season
of restitution. These are the days of restoration. This is the time when
men from over the earth come to the mountain of the Lord's house to seek
and learn of his ways and to walk in his paths. This is the summation of
all the centuries of time since the birth of Christ until this present and
wonderful day.
'The morning breaks, the shadows flee;
Lo, Zion's standard is unfurled!
The dawning of a brighter day,
Majestic rises on the world.'
The centuries have passed. The latter-day work of the Almighty -- that of
which the ancients spoke; that of which the prophets and apostles
prophesied -- is come.
It is here.
For some reason unknown to us, but in the wisdom of God, we have been
privileged to come to earth in this glorious age. There has been a great
flowering of science. There has been a veritable explosion of learning.
This is the greatest of all ages of human endeavor and human
accomplishment.
And more importantly, it is the season when God has spoken; when his
beloved son has appeared; when the divine priesthood has been restored;
when we hold in our hand another testament of the Son of God.
What a glorious and wonderful day this is. God be thanked for his
generous bestowal upon us. We thank him for this wondrous gospel, whose
power and authority reach even beyond the veil of death.
Given what we have and what we know, we ought to be a better people than
we are. We ought to be more Christ-like, more forgiving, more helpful
and considerate to all around us.
We stand on the the summit of the ages, awed by a great and solemn sense
of history. This is the last and final dispensation toward which all in
the past has pointed.
I bear testimony and witness of the reality and truth of these things. I
pray that everyone of us may sense the awesome wonder of it all.
As we look forward to the passing of a century and the death of a
millennium, let the old year go, let the new year come. Let another
century pass. Let a new one take it's place. Say goodbye to a
millenium. Greet the beginning of another 1000 years.
And so we shall go forward on a continuing path of growth and progress and
enlargement, touching for good the lives of people everywhere for as long
as the earth shall last.
At some stage in all this onward rolling, Jesus Christ will appear to
reign in splendor upon the earth.
No one knows when that will be. Not even the angels in heaven know of the
time of his return, but it will be a welcome day.
'Come O though king of kings,
We've waited long for thee,
With healing in thy wings
To set thy people free.
Come, thou desire of nations, come.
Let Israel now be gathered home.'
May God bless us with a sense of our place in history; and having been
given that sense, with our need to stand tall and walk with resolution in
a manner becoming of the Saints of the Most High, is my humble prayer. In
the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
(President Gordon B. Hinckley, Sunday Morning session, LDS General
Conference, October 3, 1999)
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END OF QUOTE
Thus he concluded what must have raptured the souls of the devoted
Saints. A fitting enough ending to a century of "coming out of
obscurity," from being a persecuted people to being a people respected for
the most part in today's world.
Fitting also of this paradigm is the fact that this is the last conference
to be held in the historic tabernacle, which has long been too cramped and
hot.
Indicative of the "growth, and improvement, and enlargement" of which
President Hinckley speaks, beginning next April, the conference will be
convened at the new massive assembly building, which will seat 21,000.
If President Hinckley has concerns about Y2K, he obviously does not
believe the problems that may arise will hinder in any way the already
stretched construction schedule, employing 1,000 workers each day, which
targets to complete the new Conference Center sufficient by April 2000 to
convene general conference there.
"If present plans hold, this will be the last time we meet in this
historic tabernacle for General Conference," he said in the afternoon
session, celebrating that building's construction, history, and other
memories.
The new building, he said, is "designed to the highest construction
codes," including seismic considerations.
I wonder how it will fare in the once-in-many centuries earthquake that
will eventually (soon?) rock the valley? Will the earthquake spare the
structure, even as the recent tornado just grazed the edge of temple
square, while toppling the construction crane over the new center?
In light of reams of prophecy regarding latter-day purgings of the Lord's
people, such a mild prediction for Y2K and optimism for the brightness of
the immediate future is as daring to make as the other extreme of warning
of dire calamities.
Many, including myself, believe that the prophecies paint a very grueling
picture of what lays immediately ahead for this people, including likely
effects of Y2K, thrust on a people who will turn into ravening creatures
when the comforts to which they have become so accustomed are suddenly
removed.
If these pending chastening destructions (of which Y2K is but one of many)
are diminished or even turned away, it will be because of the sincere
repentance of the people, not because such destructions never threatened
in the first place.
To instill such repentance do we assure people, "All is well. Carry on,
higher and higher," or do we point out the pending consequences of man's
foolishness, so that they might turn to God and live?
My reading of the scriptures points to the latter.
The beginnings of the kingdom of which Daniel spoke were indeed commenced
with Joseph Smith, but that kingdom of which he spoke was not a church, it
was a righteous government.
The saints gave up their quest for a government of God as a condition for
receiving statehood prior to the turn of the century.
Ever since then, they have called the "church" the "kingdom," which is a
misnomer.
Meanwhile, the kingdom of Satan, also called the New World Order, which is
international socialism, has gained the upper hand and succored many even
within the highest ranks of the LDS and other churches to sympathize with
and even embrace its offerings.
Consistent with prophecy about the "Drunkards of Ephraim" "in the head of
the fat valleys," even "the prophet" "errs in vision and stumbles in
judgement." (Isaiah 28.)
So when President Hinckley implies that Y2K is of no concern, but that the
church and even society will continue to climb onward and upward; rather
than be consoled, I am more alarmed.
His soothing and reassuring voice will put people to sleep rather than
awaken them to a sense of our awful situation, which vigilance is crucial
to stirring up adequate repentance so that such terrible calamities might
be avoided.
His saying that nothing will happen may very well be the reason why it
will happen.
This illustrates the need to place our trust foremost in God, not in man,
even if that man be called to serve as the president of his earthly
church. If our focus is on God, we can honestly ask ourselves if the
immediate future is indeed bright, as he portrays, or if the enemy is nigh
unto crushing us, which is what is really the case; and God can confirm to
our souls -- independent of any man -- the truth, so that we might awake
and put on strength and not be caught unawares.
Does God want a people who will follow a prophet -- one man, who is the
arm of flesh -- in this case a blind optimist -- or does he want a nation
of prophets.
"Would to God that all were prophets," is the clarion call.
Choose you this day whom you will serve, e.g. follow and believe and
support: God or man.
As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
I'm getting ready for Y2K and am doing the most I can to help others get
ready as well, in hopes that by being sufficiently prepared, it will not
be the calamity that it would be otherwise.
That was the lesson of Joseph of Egypt -- whose namesake the modern
Ephraimites should emulate and against which they should not rebel. The
rebellious of Ephraim will be cut off from among the Lord's people in the
day of wrath (e.g. when the consequences of our foolishness come to haunt
us). (D&C 64.)
May we be each stand independent before the Lord, being responsible for
our own salvation with him, and not place our trust in another, lest we
fall.
There is one sure foundation upon which man can build, and that is Christ.
I commend this foundation to all.
Sincerely,
Sterling D. Allan
http://www.GreaterThings.com
new scripture word studies
http://www.JosephPrep.com
preparedness in the spirit of Joseph of Egypt
165 W. 400 N. 3-1
Manti, UT 84642
435-835-1625
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See also:
Y2K Foretold in Alphabetics Bible Code "Dangerous, near to falling;"
"Wealth, utter destruction"
at
www.greaterthings.com/Word-Number/Y2K/
